Building block lifting tool



R. S; DEANS ET AL BUILDING BLOCK LIFTING TOOL Filed March 10, 1949 INVENTORS Ralph 5.1] 551115 Arden E1- Euttrill Patented Feb. 13, 1951 BUILDING BLOCK LIFTING TOOL Ralph Sims Deans, Abbeville, S. 0., and Arden B. Cottrill, East Akron, Ohio Application March 10, 1949, Serial No. 80,656

1 Claim.

This invention relates to a building block lifting tool.

It has long been recognized that handling building blocks in the building trade is a difii-cult problem, due to the weight of the blocks and the consequent wear on the workmen who lift and lay the blocks.

Bare hands and even gloves suffer when lifting the blocks. Attempts have been made to provide tools to handle the situation, but such tools are of a complicated construction and 'while capable of lifting blocks they do not permit of ready and quick taking hold of the blocks to lift them.

According to my invention, I provide a simple tool embodying a handle, a fixed claw-like jaw and an adjustable claw-like jaw mounted on the handle to cooperate with the fixed jaw.

An important object of the invention is to provide a simple tool construction which can be quickly manipulated to engage and grip a building block.

In the drawing:

Fig. 1 is a perspective view of the improved tool;

Fig. 2 is a side elevation showing the tool gripping a building block, that same may be lifted;

and

Fig. 3 is a similar view but showing a different way the tool can be used to lift a block.

In the drawing, I indicates a handle, on one end of which is a fixed jaw-like claw 2. The claw curves rearwardly toward the free end of the handle and is split at 3 to provide two rearwardly extending prongs 4 l. Between the handle and the tips of the prongs 4-4, on the rear face of the claw 2 is a horizontal rib 5.

Slidably mounted on the handle I is an adjustable claw-like jaw 7, which extends from a sleeve 8, and curves toward the fixed jaw. The free end of the jaw 1 is split to provide two prongs 99 which cooperate with the prongs 44 on the fixed jaw 2, or the horizontal rib 5 to engage and to hold a block.

While it is not absolutely necessary to secure the slidable jaw to the handle, I provide a set screw I0 threaded in the sleeve to engage the handle and thus secure the'two elements together if so desired.

In use, the slidable jaw is adjutsed toward the fixed jaw, then the two jaws are straddled over a wall 12 of a building block 13, the terminals of the prongs 9--9 on the slidable jaw 1 enga ing the inner surface of the wall, while the terminals of the prongs 4-4 of the fixed jaw engage the outer surface of the wall at a pointbeyond where the prongs of the slidable jaw engage the inner surface of the wall, as shown in Fig. 2. Then by raising the handle the two sets of prongs grip the block wall, with the result that the block can be conveniently carried.

Obviously when the prongs bite into the opposite surfaces of the wall of the block, and the handle is raised or tilted with reference to the block, as shown in dotted lines in Fig. 2, thus effecting frictional gripping between the prongs and the block, the tool and the block are efiectively secured together.

The wall of the block may be engaged by the prongs on the slidable jaw and the horizontal rib on the fixed jaw, as shown in Fig. 3. In this instance the prongs on the fixed jaw project beyond the block, and the bearing points of the wall are on the rib 5 on the inner surface of the fixed jaw at l2, and the terminals of the prongs 99 are on the slidable jaw, as shown in Fig. 3.

From the foregoing description it is evident that I have provided a simple, cheap and convenient tool to enable a mechanic to move or manipulate building blocks without in any way touching the blocks with the hands.

What is claimed:

A building block liftin tool, comprising a horizontal handle, a fixed jaw depending from one end of the handle *and at right angle thereto, the free end of the fixed depending jaw being slightly curved toward the front end of the handle, a slidable depending jaw mounted on the handle, said depending sliding jaw being shorter than the depending fixed jaw and having jaws curved toward the inner face of the fixed depending jaw and spaced a substantial distance from said fixed jaw, a transverse rib on the front surface of the dependin fixed jaw, said transverse rib being located above the bottom of the fixed jaw, the slidable jaw terminating in substantial horizontal alignment with the rib on the fixed jaw, whereby when lifting a block the outer end will be engaged between the lower end of the slidable jaw and the rib on the fixed jaw or between the shorter slidable jaw and the lower end of the dependingfixed jaw.

RALPH SIMS DEANS.

ARDEN B. COTTRILL.

REFERENCES CITED The following references are of record in the file of this patent:

UNITED STATES PATENTS Number Name Date 653,401 Rausch July 10, 1900 902,305 Larava Oct. 27, 1908 1,177,205 Mullin Mar. 28, 1916 1,232,488 Brooks July 10, 1917 1,834,503 Smith Dec. 1, 1931 1,983,168 Criner Dec. 4, 1934 FOREIGN PATENTS Number Country Date 8,883 Great Britain May 4, 1895 

